Fearful one of the men was about to attack her husband, who is registered blind and suffers from kidney failure, Marion leapt on one of the assailants - grappling him to the ground in a headlock.

The 47-year-old, who suffers from several health conditions - including epilepsy and osteoporosis - suffered a fractured rib during the horrific ordeal at around 12.10am on Thursday.

The men, who ransacked the flat, fled as soon as the mother-of-one started screaming for help.

Mrs Pedersen said: “One minute we were watching TV and the next thing we knew these men were in the room, running amok searching for things to steal.

“I was petrified and initially felt frozen to my chair, but then I thought one of them was going to do something to Andrew.

“Instinct just came over me, I don’t know if I was being brave or just stupid.

“I got the thief in a headlock and dragged him down to the floor.

“I pulled back his hooded top as I wanted to get a good look at the face of someone who could do something so heartless.

“But then he pushed me off him and I felt my rib go and I started screaming. That’s when they ran off.”

She said the thieves got away with the couple’s laptop computer, a mobile phone and a purse containing a small amount of cash and credit cards.

Her 50-year-old husband has lost “a lifeline” as relatives used the laptop to help entertain him while he sits through three four-hour sessions of dialysis every week.

“I am sickened that anyone can break into someone’s home, particularly when they know it is sheltered accommodation for vulnerable, disabled and old people,” added Marion, who was treated at the scene by paramedics following the incident. “I’m worried sick that they will come back and have another go.”

She urged the public to help find the men who carried out the robbery.

“I want them to be punished and I want to prevent anyone else from having this happen to them,” she added.

The thieves were described as Asian, aged between 18 and 20, and of a slim build. The man who Marion challenged was sporting facial hair, including a small beard and moustache.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Police said an investigation had been launched into the incident and she appealed for anyone with information to call 101.